Today we’re reviewing the Ray Ban Stories, the smart glasses made by Ray Ban, to figure out,
are they worth it? We’ll be looking at the design, testing the specs and features
including the cameras, microphones and speakers- to see the quality of each of them.
We’ll even consider the usefulness factor and how often you’d actually wear these smart glasses.
We’ve had our Ray Ban smart glasses for over 4 months,
so stick around until the end to find out how often we’ve been using them.
First up, looking at the design. They’re available in many different styles, colors and even 2
different sizes- standard or Large. They also have 6 different color options to choose from including
different lenses on each, with polarized or prescription lenses being an add-on offered. For
Price, the glasses start at $300 bucks, and go up from there depending on options you choose.
We bought ours in the Wayfarer style with black frames in the
Matte black color, and the standard size.
In terms of looks, they definitely look sleek and just as good as a regular pair of Ray Ban.
Especially compared to other smart glasses on the market. I mean, just take a look at
the Snapchat Spectacles over the last 3 versions they’ve created.
And now you know why you don’t see anyone wearing these.
Meanwhile, RayBan was able to put all of the technology into a small form factor-
including the 2 cameras, 4 small speakers and 3 microphones all in the side arms– while making
the RayBan stories almost indistinguishable from regular glasses, especially from further away.
However, all of that does come at a downside when looking at the video capture quality.
The glasses have two 5 megapixel cameras on the front for taking photos or videos on the fly. But
you’re limited to taking only 30 second clips at a time, by pressing the button on the top side of
the right frame. There’s a small white LED light on the front of the glasses that turns on when you
record, and another LED light on the inside of the glasses so you know when you’re recording.
But the quality of the video is not very impressive,
especially compared to the quality from the latest phones. The 5 megapixel cameras on
the RayBan are less than half of what you’d find on a new iPhone 13 Pro,
and the size of the sensors are much smaller. The videos recorded on the RayBan Stories are a square
format with a resolution of 1184x1184 with a frame rate of 30fps. The square format is perfect for
social media apps like Instagram, and this is actually what these glasses are designed for.
But if you want to use the videos for posting on YouTube or other widescreen formats,
you’ll need to crop in, which will make the videos have even lower quality.
So you might be wondering: why have cameras on your glasses? We did a poll on our Instagram
and found 67% thought the RayBan’s looked sleek, and when we asked about the cameras,
it was an even 50% that found the Cameras creepy, while the other half thought they could be useful.
Having owned the Ray Ban stories for many months now, we quickly realized they are not
going to replace the daily sunglasses. Instead, you’ll want to use these for certain occasions,
in situations that aren’t creepy- like going on a skateboard ride with your friends,
or on a hike with your dog. You can quickly capture 30 second clips of your experiences
in the moment, hands free. They are perfect for adventures like traveling with your friends and
family where people with you already know that you’ll be recording a POV perspective.
They could also be useful for safety and security reasons, being able to quickly
record a situation if something happens. And if you want to listen to background music,
listen to a podcast, or take a phone call – while out on a walk, they are great for that.
The speakers are open ear speakers, meaning they are located close to your ears on the sidearms.
While the speakers aren’t going to sound as loud or like normal headphones, they still do a decent
job. Controlling the audio on the Ray Ban, there’s a touch sensitive control on the right arm,
so you can swipe to change volume, tap to play, pause and answer calls or skip tracks.
We also tested the microphones and we were actually surprised to find that
the Ray Ban had good microphones and sound isolation that worked well. We did a test
while taking a phone call and riding a bike while on the Frames- here’s how it sounded.
To connect to the glasses, it uses a combination of Bluetooth and Wifi.
To download the photos and videos, you use the app called Facebook View. You can select which
videos to transfer to your phone, and make quick adjustments to the video and either share them
directly to Instagram or Facebook. You can also download them straight to your device camera roll.
Looking at some other nice added features like the charging and the case. The Ray Ban comes in
a sleek leather case that doubles as both storage and also recharges the glasses. The case itself
has a built-in battery, a USB-C plug, and an LED light on the front. For battery life, the glasses
can last up to 6 hours of moderate usage, and 3 hours with continuous audio streaming,
while the case can fully re-charge your glasses up to 3 times on a single charge of the case.
Alright, so at the end of the day– are the Ray Ban’s worth getting?
If you’re looking for your first pair of smart glasses to try out,
they are some of the most stylish ones available. And if you plan on using them
for making short content for social media, or safety reasons, they could be perfect for you.
But if you’re mainly interested in the audio part of smart glasses, next up be sure to check
out our comparison of the Ray Ban stories vs the Bose Frames– that have no cameras on the front.
If you enjoyed this review, be sure to give us a like on this video and subscribe to our
channel for more cool tech. And let us know in the comments what you think about Smart Glasses.